Joburg knew Metro Centre building unsafe for occupation

The City of Joburg has for four years known that the Metro Centre building which was evacuated in September after a fire was unsafe for occupation.

In 2019, the city commissioned a report into the state of the Metro Centre building in Braamfontein but spokesperson Nthatisi Modingoane said the previous administration rejected the report.

It has also emerged that six months before the fire broke out on September 16, the city was issued with a notice, the second in eight months, by the department of labour for contravening occupational health and safety regulations. The other notice was issued in July 2022.

In the notice issued in March, which Sowetan has seen, an inspector said the city had failed to comply with the contravention, improvement, prohibition notice which was issued in July 2022, adding that it would refer the matter for prosecution.

The city’s spokesperson Nthatisi Modingoane said: “The said report was presented to council and it flagged several structural, mechanical and electrical concerns with the building.

In simple terms , the report concluded that the Metro Centre building was uninhabitable.  Meaning it is unsafe for use and occupation,” said Modingoane. He said there was also a host of legislation and regulations in place that further pronounced on building standards and infrastructure requirements that when complied with certify a building for occupancy.

“The previous mayoral committee under the multi-party government in 2022 rejected a report on the state of the Metro Centre and a proposal for the decanting of the offices to give way for a total makeover and revamp of the Metro Centre via a public-private partnership [PPP].

”The fire has resulted in thousands of staff members having to vacate the building, with some working from home while others have been relocated to other buildings owned by the city.

This has affected council sittings and other services. Modingoane confirmed that the department served them with a notice.“

Last month, the city commissioned a professional team to conduct a comprehensive diagnosis of the four transformers and to provide a report. The report received confirms what has been a known challenge, fear and fact,” he said.

The labour department’s notice read in part, “This is to confirm that 60 days given toyou to comply with the contravention, improvement, prohibition notice … issued in terms of section 30(3)/(4) of the OHSA [Occupational Health and Safety Act] and served on you on [July 20 2022] has lapsed, in that you have failed to comply with the following provisions of the act/regulations …

“The notice said the city has failed to ensure that the street emergency services exit door is kept clear and capable of being easily and rapidly opened from inside to ensure quick and easy evacuations.

“[The city also failed to] ensure that the workplace is ventilated either by mechanical or natural means in that the air breathed by employees does not endanger their safety.

”It further stated that the city failed to ensure that three of the Metro Centre building lifts were inspected and tested in accordance with relevant safety standards, as well as that the roof is sound and leak free and to provide running hot and cold water for wash basins.

“Kindly note that this matter will be referred for prosecution in terms of section 38 of the act without any further notice to you, ” said the notice. Modingoane said the building ’s transformers have outlived their useful life.

“To exacerbate matters, three weekends ago the MIS [management information systems] building where these four transformers are situated caught fire which appears to have started in the area where the transformers are housed.”

The provincial labour department’s spokesperson Segothadi Lerotholi had not responded to questions sent on Monday.